Ahab’s Moby Dick Sleep Murmurs
“On this level, Ahab’s hammock swings within; his head this way. A touch, and Starbuck may survive to hug his wife and child again.—Oh Mary! Mary!—boy! boy! boy!—But if I wake thee not to death, old man, who can tell to what unsounded deeps Starbuck’s body this day week may sink, with all the crew! Great God, where art Thou? Shall I? shall I?—The wind has gone down and shifted, sir; the fore and main topsails are reefed and set; she heads her course.” “Stern all! Oh Moby Dick, I clutch thy heart at last!” Such were the sounds that now came hurtling from out the old man’s tormented sleep, as if Starbuck’s voice had caused the long dumb dream to speak.
Starbuck Relents, Summons Stubb
The yet levelled musket shook like a drunkard’s arm against the panel; Starbuck seemed wrestling with an angel; but turning from the door, he placed the death-tube in its rack, and left the place. “He’s too sound asleep, Mr. Stubb; go thou down, and wake him, and tell him. I must see to the deck here. Thou know’st what to say.”
KAPITEL 124. The Needle.
The morning following the storm finds the sea still churning with mighty billows as Ahab stands apart, tracking the sun’s rays with eerie precision until he suddenly demands to know the ship’s heading, only to discover that the compasses have been reversed by lightning, pointing east while the Pequod sails west. Recalling that the magnetic needle never recovers its original virtue once struck by such a force, Ahab defies Fate by fashioning a new compass from a sail-maker’s needle, magnetizing it through a ritual of hammering and suspending it over the binnacle, where it settles true—proving to his terrified crew that he remains “lord of the level loadstone.”
The Sea’s Mighty Advance
The sea rolls in massive swells, propelling the Pequod forward with tremendous force. A strong, steady wind fills the air, making the world seem to billow like sails. The sun remains hidden behind bright light, its rays appearing as bayonets across the sky. Everything glows with golden warmth as if the sea were a crucible of molten gold.
Ahab’s Silent Vigil
Ahab stands apart in enchanted silence, watching the ship pitch and roll. Each time the bowsprit dips, he turns to observe the bright sun’s rays ahead; when the stern settles, he looks behind to see the sun’s position blending with the ship’s wake. He maintains this vigil with unusual intensity.
The Sun’s Chariot Boast
Ahab proclaims the Pequod to be the sea-chariot of the sun, boasting that he brings the sun to all nations before him. He drives the sea like a tandem team, commanding the further billows. His manic excitement suddenly shifts when he demands to know the ship’s heading.
The Compass Error
The steersman reports the ship is heading east-sou-east, which prompts Ahab to strike him with his fist. Ahab insists this is impossible given the sun is astern. Every crew member becomes confounded by this discrepancy they had failed to notice, though the phenomenon’s obviousness should have made it impossible to miss.
Eastward While Going West
Ahab peers into the binnacle and sees that both compasses point east, yet the Pequod is unmistakably heading west. His uplifted arm falls slowly, and for a moment he almost staggers. The ship is traveling in the opposite direction from where its compasses point.
Lightning and the Needle
Ahab immediately recovers with a rigid laugh, declaring he understands what happened. He explains that last night’s thunder turned the compasses. Starbuck acknowledges this phenomenon but notes it has never happened to him before. The text notes that such accidents have occurred in violent storms, with lightning sometimes striking vessels and affecting compass needles.
The Science of Magnetism
The narrative explains that the magnetic energy in a compass needle is essentially one with electricity in heaven. Lightning strikes have sometimes destroyed all loadstone virtue in compass needles, rendering magnetic steel useless. Once damaged, the needle never recovers its original virtue, and if one compass is affected, all others in the ship suffer the same fate.
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